Fuji TV’snoitaminA block has been very good to us animation fans in recent years, having provided us with more than a few interesting shows (including Eden of the East, a personal favorite of mine.)

With Funimation’s upcoming release of Guilty Crown, a recent noitaminA series, do we have another interesting series from the respected and venerable animation block worth your time and money? Continue reading →

What is Fractale? To tell you the truth, I’m still figuring that out myself…

One of the latest additions to FUNimation’s incredibly robust online streaming repertoire, Fractale is being simulcast every Thursday on Hulu at 11:45 am (EST), one hour after the episodes premiere on Fuji TV in Japan…at least, that’s the plan. The simulcast was halted after the first episode when the show’s copyright holders demanded FUNimation take steps to stop piracy of the episodes. Once this was sorted out and the simulcast resumed, the massive snow storms and cold fronts sweeping much of America prevented this week’s planned simulcast of episode four (I know how you feel, FUNi – it’s cold here too!). Thus, this review covers the first three episodes of the series as part of a new plan on this site to review streaming content in ‘blocks.’ Fractale will only be 11 episodes total, so we’re planning two more reviews, each highlighting four new episodes, to cover the rest of the series as it airs. Continue reading →

One of the more popular anime and manga series of the past decade returns.

Yes yes, Fullmetal Alchemist returns. Rather than a sequel to the first anime series, this new series is taking the true to the manga route. Is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood already a shining piece of steel in its first 13 episodes, or does it come up a little… short? Continue reading →

Back again, and this time with a bloody treat, Blassreiter. One of the original simulcasts is finally getting a DVD release. After the show was given out for free, does the DVD deserve a place on your shelf?

Instead of my normal comment, a small warning. Look at the cover art. If the cover art makes you a bit creeped out, just consider… this is the American cover art. If this is what we get for the cover, imagine the content of the show itself… but for the rest of you, it may be a ride worth catching ( and aha!, fought the effort to make a motorcycle joke!) Also, after the jump is the entire first episode embedded for your viewing pleasure via Gonzo’s Youtube channel, and Funimation Video is also streaming the entire series subtitled (along with a few dub episodes as a preview.) Continue reading →

It’s time for more Naruto. Last time we left the precocious ninja children, Naruto was leaving the village to spend a few years training to prepare to fight the villains everyone knows is coming.

The characters are a little bit older, so does a few years skipped lead to anything good? (For anyone who wants to watch, the first episode subbed is embedded at the very bottom of the review.) Continue reading →

Digimon in the USA has always had an odd history. Never quite getting a real release for any of it’s seasons on DVD (minus a single DVD for the first season released nearly a decade ago that had over 10 episodes stuffed onto it and the first three films in their ‘edited into one film for the USA’ version on a different DVD) Well Go USA has teamed up with Toei USA to bring boxsets of the newest season to the USA.

After some lackluster online streaming and video on demand offerings recently, let’s see if this is finally a Digimon release fans can get behind and enjoy.

Time for another early look. I’m a big Ken Akamatsu fan, so I’ve been looking forward to more Negima for awhile. The new series is interesting (yes it’s a new series, put Season 2 up there because it is still vaguely known as that to most people).

Let’s take a look at this reimagination, see what works, and see what doesn’t.

Hey, Sports fans! It looks like the time has come for me to make my debut on the FBR, so I am going to kick things off with the 1999 animated series Blue Gender, which was localized by Funimation in the US between 2001 and 2003.

Today we’re going to take a look at the very first episode of the series, the episode that started it all, and see what it’s all about. The episode is at the bottom of the review, so if you want to watch it before reading the review, scroll on down (it’s split into pieces, all are down there).Continue reading →